I have the honor & privilege of welcoming seasoned Wall Street executive & author, Ed Hajim, to the show!
I’ve heard many success stories that were fraught with challenges, but Ed’s rags to riches story is exemplary. He was kidnapped by his father, told his mother was dead, and orphaned before receiving a scholarship to the University of Rochester (my wife’s alma mater), and an MBA from Harvard.
Ed’s accomplishments are too many to list here - it would be an understatement to say he’s held senior management positions at some of the most prestigious financial institutions in the world. As well, after twenty years as a trustee of the U of R, Ed became chairman of the University’s board.
Last month Ed released his book, On The Road Less Traveled, and it stands as a testament of the value in facing adversity, and a framework for survival for those of us still in the thick of it.
The last year has certainly presented plenty of opportunities to put Ed’s story into real time application.
Tune in for this energetic conversation at TalkRadio.nyc or watch theFacebook Livestream by clicking here.
Jeremiah introduces his message of the week “when you learn to make adversity your ally, it becomes a super power”, as well as his guest Ed Hajim a successful entrepreneur and author. Jeremiah explains how Ed’s alma mater the University of Rochester is where his wife went to school and how the university has helped his wife through her education. Ed explains his journey through attending a private university as outlined in his book The Road Less Traveled, and how he came to the decision to go to Rochester compared to the other universities he was accepted into. Ed retells the difficulty of the engineering process, and how only a few of his classmates in chemical engineering graduated alongside him, but regardless of the difficulty, the University of Rochester was an excellent place for him to attend. Jeremiah and Ed discuss Ed’s current endeavour of coaching first generation college students, as he was when he attended, and how many first generation students excel academically but struggle socially, and he wants to help these students be successful in all aspects of the college experience. The two discuss why Ed was incredibly involved in the University of Rochester community, and how being involved helped him throughout his college experience. Ed continues to explain how he came to realize how much he enjoyed helping people to achieve things beyond what they believed they could through his time organizing and creating a humor magazine for the university.
Jeremiah and Ed discuss the fragility of one’s professional existence as affected recently by the Covid-19 pandemic, and how the adversity they had experienced in their lives has better prepared them for their future. Ed explains how he ended up in New York and New York City, as he was originally from Los Angeles. The two discuss Ed’s attitude he adopted at a young age as to keep moving forward and not lose himself in the adversity, and he brings up the example of the Covid-19 pandemic. Ed explains how Covid-19 is one of the “big hits” to the current generation, comparing it to the global reach of the Great Depression of the 1930s, and how medicine has been greatly impacted due to the pandemic, and while the pandemic has negatively impacted daily life, but medicine has also improved due to the pandemic as well. The two discuss how Ed has changed the adversity he faced into an ally for him, as he has lived in multiple places before high school, he gained the ability to become easily adaptable. He also explains how change is fine and even exciting to him, because of his upbringing which gives him an advantage over people who have lived in one location throughout the entirety of their lives who are uncomfortable with change. The two discuss the changes to society that will result due to the pandemic and how these changes will affect daily life.
The two discuss Ed’s decision as a young adult to seal his background and not mention it to anyone else, to the point where his wife and children were asking for a complete record of his life growing up. This interest from his family with a combination of working with the University of Rochester motivated him to write his book. Ed explains how he gained the mindset from his childhood of not to become a victim and to keep moving forward, and with this mindset he adopted he has been able to strive to complete more things he wanted to do regardless of whatever adversity he faced. Jeremiah explains how he has been telling people to use Ed’s book as a reference material, as everyone will face adversity in their lives, and you will not know how to overcome it if you don’t experience it. Ed continues off of that point to discuss how failure is a gift if you experience it early enough, and that partnership is extremely important in life, especially in today's society, regardless if it's platonic, romantic, or business based. Jeremiah agrees with Ed’s point about failure being a gift if you experience it early on, because he himself has had several failed business attempts, and without these failed attempts he wouldn’t have known how to succeed nor help others succeed in their business endeavors. Jeremiah and Ed discuss the similarities between Ed’s lessons and the lessons that are often taught in martial arts.
The two discuss Ed’s belief that if you operate on passion then your work is not work, and Jeremiah brings up the point how in the present day, especially due to the pandemic many business owners and entrepreneurs are only working to work. Ed suggests that you should outline your passions, and because these passions morph you should keep track of your passions, and if you exercise them when they change you will be home free. He also explains how the context of when you are living is just as important as the passions themselves, and a balance between your passions, the historical context of when you are currently living, as well as your principles is necessary to live a positive and happy life. Jeremiah brings up the quote“Hard times create strong men, strong men create easy times, easy times create weak men, and weak men create hard times”, and the two discuss their opinions on the quote. Ed brings up the point that strong men can become weak and weak men can become strong because of the environment they live in, and that context is not taken into account in the quote. The two discuss advice they would give to young people who are growing up in the current environment, and Ed says you should focus on your passions and the change that is occurring around you.
